Toshiba Thrive 7
8 expert reviews - 0 user reviews
Follow
0
0
Want it
0
Have it
0
Had it
0
We have collected 8 reviews of the Toshiba Thrive 7. Experts rate Toshiba Thrive 7 6/10. Reviewsor.com helps you find reviews, best prices, user reviews of the Toshiba Thrive 7 and Toshiba Touch Pad.
- Writh a review
- Say something
- Ask a question
- Get support
Toshiba Thrive 7 Reviews
Toshiba Thrive 7-inch Review: Tablet Function and Portability
We liked the 10-inch Toshiba Thrive, so it should come as no surprise that we have warm feelings for the shrunken down 7-inch version of Toshiba's Honeycomb tablet, which has nearly the identical design and featureset as its big brother. The Toshiba Thrive 7-inch features the same rubberized backing, which offers a sturdy feel and a comfortable grip. You get the same core specs, which include the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of system memory, along with the same 2-megapixel front-facing camera and the 5-megapixel rear-facing cameras. And despite its smaller dimensions, the Thrive 7-inch offers the same screen resolution and the same port selection, though they are micro versions of the full-size ports on the Thrive 10-inch.There is one important difference, however, between the two sizes. Unlike the 10-inch model, the Thrive 7-inch's battery is not replaceable. When the battery goes, you'll need to send the Thrive back to Toshiba for replacement or find yourself another tablet, which isn't nearly as convenient or inexpensive as replacing the battery yourself. On the flip-side, the Thrive 7-inch's camera features an LED flash, a feature absent on the Thrive 10-inch. Toshiba sells two Thrive 7-inch models, each distinguished by its hard drive capacity. We reviewed the 16GB model, which costs $379.
Toshiba Thrive 7 Review, Honeycomb at 7 Inches
If 2011 was the year of the tablet, then Q4 2011 had to be the quarter of 7-inch versions. With a late-in-the-year burst of releases from various manufacturers spurring break-out products like the Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, it's as if manufacturers made a concerted effort to target lower price points in an move to capture opportunity upsides during the holiday season. There's little question Amazon's product, with its $199 price tag and an entire platform of media services and brand recognition behind it, made a big splash and now the competitive offerings are ramping up. Meanwhile, Toshiba was a shade on the late side to the 10-inch tablet party with the original Thrive released early this year, but they're ready to strike while the proverbial iron is hot now in this late seasonal market buzz for 7-inch devices. We called the 10-inch Toshiba Thrive the "Swiss Army Knife" of tablets back when we reviewed it, with its copious amounts of connectivity options and full-sized ports. It's a large-than-most tablet but the sort of device that differentiates itself in a crowd of too similar designs. The second coming of the Thrive, the Toshiba Thrive 7 that we're going to take a look at today, however, has to squeeze features and functionality into a decidedly smaller form factor.
Toshiba Thrive 7
There are a lot of similar 7-inch Android tablets out there. Toshiba's Thrive 7 ($379.99 direct) ramps up the screen resolution from competing models, but ultimately doesn't provide a richer experience. The Thrive 7 is a fine tablet, it's just not the most of anything: neither the slimmest, lightest, fastest, or cheapest, and its short battery life is a real bummer. Design, Screen, and ConnectivityThe Thrive 7 tablet is, for the most part, a scale model of the original 10-inch Thrive ($429.99, 3.5 stars), with the same ridged-texture backing, camera placement, and black plastic frame. Toshiba did a nice job slimming down its new smaller tablet. At 7.44 by 5.04 by 0.48 inches and 13.3 ounces, the Thrive 7 is on par with the T-Mobile Springboard 4G ($429.99, 3.5 stars) and slightly thicker than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 ($399, 3.5 stars). The plastic frame feels cheaper than that of the Galaxy Tab 7, and downright chintzy next to the Springboard's aluminum body. The original Thrive had some great features not found on other tablets, including its full-sized ports and removable battery. Those are missing here. The Thrive 7 has a familiar port flap, but behind it are a micro HDMI port, mini USB port, and a micro SD slot, all of which are pretty common on a lot of tablets these days.
Toshiba Thrive 7-inch review
Toshiba hasn't had an easy ride in the tablet market. When we reviewed the original Thrive tablet this July, it wasn’t only thicker and heavier than the rest of the 10-inch tablets out there (Toshiba claimed the bulk was necessary to house an array of full-size ports), but it was also stricken by charging and build issues. It really was far from the "work of progress" that Toshiba marketed it as, but the 7-inch Thrive stands a much better chance of living up to that claim. While the $379 tablet has the same internal specs — a Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage — it costs less than the original Thrive without sacrificing its high resolution 1280 x 800 7-inch display. So, does the Thrive 7 change the tide for Toshiba? Or should the tablet maker scrap the Thrive lineup and start thinking a bit harder about what “progress” really means? Read on. Mini Thrive. That's what Toshiba should have called the 7-inch Thrive, since it truly looks like a shrunken version of the original. Everything from the ribbed back to the chrome surrounding the cameras (and down to the flimsy port flap) is a carbon copy of the styling and design of the larger model. The only major change is that the black rear cover isn't replaceable like it was on the 10-inch version.
Toshiba Thrive 7 inch
The original Toshiba Thrive 10-inch impressed us with its support for full-size ports and the ability to remove its battery and swap in a new one. Features that are still unmatched in mainstream tablets. The 7-inch version is here now, but with its smaller form factor can it possibly offer the same experience? Given a quick once-over, the Toshiba Thrive 7-inch seems like an exact, albeit shrunken down, replica of the Toshiba Thrive 10-inch, released in July 2011. And while each tablet shares a few obvious aesthetic similarities--ostensibly designed to evoke a feeling of familiarity in potential buyers--upon a closer examination, you'll find some key differences between the two. However, if your eyes are on the Thrive 7-inch, then you've probably already decided that a smaller tablet works better for your needs, so I won't waste time comparing it to the Thrive 10-inch. Instead, whenever appropriate, the Thrive 7-inch will match up against ; one of the highest-rated 7-inch tablets on CNET. Compared to the 7.0 Plus's sloped backside and sleeker look, the Thrive 7-inch looks boxier and well, kind of dull. And though it's fatter-looking than the 7.0 Plus, in actuality it's not that much thicker than the Samsung and honestly, unless we're looking for it, it's difficult to notice that size difference at all.
Toshiba Thrive 7-inch Tablet Review
For those who find 9- and 10-inch slates too large to carry everywhere, 7-inch tablets provide greater portability and easier one-handed use. With competitors such as Acer, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lenovo, and Samsung making 7-inch devices, Toshiba is entering an already crowded market with its new slate. However the new Thrive 7-inch brings some compelling favors to the party, including a high-resolution 1280 x 800 screen and an attractive design. But is this Tegra 2-toting tablet worth its relatively high $379 price?Click to EnlargeOne of the most stylish tablets with this size display, the Thrive 7-inch shares the same aesthetic as its bigger brother, the 10-inch Toshiba Thrive. It has a luxurious rubberized back with a textured ridge surface that's easy to grip. Classy chrome rings the front and rear cameras. As on the elder Thrive, the cameras sit on the short side of the device, making it a little too easy to cover the back-facing lens with your thumb when filming with the device in landscape mode.While the 10-inch Toshiba Thrive was one of the bulkiest tablets on the market, its 7-inch brother is one of the lightest, making it well suited for one hand use. At 7.4 x 5. x 0.5 inches and 13.3 ounces, the 7-inch Thrive is thicker and heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus (12.2 ounces, 7.6 x 4 x 0.4 inches).
Toshiba Thrive 7"
The Toshiba Thrive 7” Tablet is the latest in a recent deluge of 7-inch contenders. Its biggest distinguishing factors are its crisp, high-resolution 1280-by-800-pixel display and its strong complement of ports. But disappointments lurk as well--the tablet's disappointing audio performance foremost among them. Not unexpectedly, the Thrive 7” (model number AT1S5-T16) comes in at a significantly higher price than this season's budget 7-inch models, the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. But the 7-inch Thrive is, at least, a full-blown Android tablet running Google's Android 3.2.1 Honeycomb operating system (Toshiba has yet to confirm whether it will offer an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich next year). And you get a lot more versatility for that amount of money. At $380 (price as of December 8, 2011) for a 16GB model, the Thrive 7” is competitively priced with the Acer Iconia Tab A100 and costs less than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus ($400) and T-Mobile SpringBoard ($430, including monthly device payments over a two-year mobile broadband contract).
Hands On With the 7-Inch Toshiba Thrive
Toshiba today unveiled the newest addition to its Thrive family of tablets: the Toshiba Thrive 7”. This compact model has nothing to do with the slimline, 10.1-inch AT200 tablet that the company showed at the IFA trade show in Berlin in September, but it does underscore how quickly technologies and designs in the tablet market are evolving. This 7-inch model is due out in December. (Take a visual tour of the new Thrive here.) The Thrive 7”--yes, the 7” appears to be part of its official name for now--is the first truly 7-inch model announced with a high-resolution, 1280-by-800-pixel display, offering 225 pixels per inch. Samsung already announced at IFA that its Galaxy Tab 7.7 would have the same resolution, but that model has a 7.7-inch display. For some perspective, consider that this is also the resolution currently available on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1--but because the new Toshiba model packs the pixels into a smaller display, the pixels-per-inch figure is higher, which eliminates the dot-matrix effect that often plagues Android tablets. Pixels clearly matter. When I tried a preproduction unit in advance of Toshiba's announcement, the 7-inch Thrive had the sharpest, cleanest text I've seen yet on an Android tablet.
Prices
| Retailer | Information | Prices | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Toshiba Thrive, Full Color 7-inch (1280 x 800) HD Multi-touch Display, 16GB (1GHz Dual-Core, Wi-Fi) Android Tablet | $220.48 | See it |
 |
Toshiba Thrive, Full Color 7-inch (1280 x 800) HD Multi-touch Display, 16GB (1GHz Dual-Core, Wi-Fi) Android Tablet | $239.99 | See it |
|
Toshiba Thrive, Full Color 7-inch (1280 x 800) HD Multi-touch Display, 32GB (1GHz Dual-Core, Wi-Fi) Android Tablet | $307.29 | See it |
|
Toshiba Thrive, Full Color 7-inch (1280 x 800) HD Multi-touch Display, 32GB (1GHz Dual-Core, Wi-Fi) Android Tablet | $307.29 | See it |
 |
Toshiba Thrive 7 Android Tablet (AT1S5T16) with 16GB Internal Storage, 1GB Memory - Black | $379.99 | See it |
|
Toshiba Thrive AT1S5-T32 (PDA03U-005007) | $589.99 | See it |
|
Toshiba Thrive AT1S5-T32 (PDA03U-005007) | $648 | See it |
-
Toshiba Thrive 7 : (6/10)
8 expert reviews
0 user reviews
